Parmoor

Introduction

[ The first three parts of this section come from "A History
of Frieth" which was one of two folders (the other being "Your
House and Mine") compiled by Joan Barksfield which circulated in
Frieth. The folder was
first issued in January 1973 and I think amended over time up to
January 1984.

I have placed these three items here because it gives me space
to add other documents about Parmoor which I am uncovering.

Parmoor House, now known as "St Katharine's Parmoor", is the
Headquarters of the Sue Ryder Prayer Fellowship. You can
see a virtual tour of the property as it is now on their website
http://www.srpf.org.uk/
The History section of that website clearly draws on the same
notes from 1954 given to my mother by the sisters in 1973.
Following extensive research into the D'Oyley family she
identified a number of mistakes in those notes
- the version available from the menu on the left has been
corrected.

During my time in Frieth, Parmoor House was always known as "St
Katharine's Convent" and, as a young boy, I was dragged there
reluctantly to what I thought then were very boring "Sales of work" usually just before
Christmas I think - the tedium only being relieved by my being
offered a slice of excellent cake for which the kitchens there
were renowned!

My father used to talk about King Zog of Albania having been
exiled there during the war (1941 - 46) although I don't believe they ever
met. More recently Neil Rees has published a book "A
Royal Exile: King Zog and Queen Geraldine, Including Their
Wartime Exile in the Thames Valley and Chilterns"

But I now know that Parmoor has a rich and fascinating history
going back hundreds of years which I hope you will enjoy
discovering in the following pages as much as I have.